What did you think of the first USPL?

the question says it all. Please post good and bad things about the tournament. Lets keep it constructive to help the league continue to build and get better. Many people don't know that the pro teams and many of their owners put a lot of time and money into this event. The league is trying to go back to what the original "NPPL" was,.... A league for the players and by the players.

the far pits need a walkway all the way down there. having to drag a heavy *** gearbag through a half mile of sand sucked dick. and it would be nice to have assigned pits or at least have them sectioned off so we didn't have to stand around for 30 minutes to try to find an empty table. other then that, . i kinda liked the no armbands, seems to make everything run smoother. not very many vendors though, overall i'd have to say a B+

i didnt go but the rest of my team did and they liked it. only thing they said that sucked was dragging the gearbags through the sand which i can promise you means next year, im going to be mr pack-mule seeing as im the only guy bigger than the bag he carries

Player staging right beside the field was awesome. You could get ready for the next game, scout your next opponents, and know when you're up to play. This really sped things up too!

It took way too long to get more boxes of paint... a more efficient method is needed. After day 1, our team was reprimanded for returning 4-5 unopened cases; that we should only get a couple at a time because it'll be fast and efficient...FAIL!

Having paint in a climate controlled area and readily accessible was great though! Just need a faster delivery method with more people working the table

Having people pay for grandstands on Saturday...and Pros NOT playing? I didn't mind as a player because I could be right up on the net, but for the spectators, I think they should be able to watch you pros

Pro/Am Mentoring. Awesome! Bart Yachimec was awesome beyond belief!!

Maybe players can get a free event tee included with our entry fee? I posted somewhere else that other events like triathlons, marathons, etc... only cost like $25-50 and you get free tees, water bottles, etc...

Thanks Rodney for taking time to listen, and congrats on your win! A+ for USPL's 1st event! It can only get better from here

By the time sunday rolled around All the reffs became lazy and did not do there job 100% there were quite a few bad calls today on every field. Other than that it was great, maybe not have all the vendors so close together next time it was hard trying to make your way through the path way.

I will make the first response. (gues im slow to respond to my own post) Everyone beat me too it

Good things.

Overall the venue was smaller but i liked how they moved everything closer. No long walks to the field you were playing. You could watch everygame from your staging area.
The games seem to run smooth.
Were there reffing issues, yes but for the most part they seemed to be under control. The bushwhackers held it down on the two divisional fields quite well. Hats off to Ron and his guys.
The chronoing on the field seemed to work a lot better then in the past
The no arm band rule was good too. No more refs looking for the lost ones and players walking off with them.

Rules issue
the one rule issue that happened to us and the other Divisional teams was the rule regarding the seeding of the semi finals. In the past the team that has qualified first in the prelims has always earned the right to play the lowest seeded team throughout the playoff rounds. This was changed without the teams knowing. I dont think the league did it intentionally. the change was to bracket the teams. The idea behind it made sense but it need to be fixed in the rules to read correctly for future events.

Items too correct
the restrooms were too far away. Maybe this was because the city had an issue

Since I was playing today i didn't really notice, but I was there friday and it seemed like trash cans were hard to come by. Maybe get those cardboard trash bags and just do trash runs every now and then with new liners. Thats what we do when we have special events at my work.

overall venue was fun everybody was nice besides a few reffs where the worst ive ever seen and some one sided ness. MUSIC WAS WAY TO LOUD DURING GAMES! i couldnt hear the reffs counting down the game.reffing could have been alot better and id checks should have been more often. the parking was really confusing and i got a ticket -_-. but other than that it was fun but needs more vendors!!

overall venue was fun everybody was nice besides a few reffs where the worst ive ever seen and some one sided ness. MUSIC WAS WAY TO LOUD DURING GAMES! i couldnt hear the reffs counting down the game.reffing could have been alot better and id checks should have been more often. the parking was really confusing and i got a ticket -_-. but other than that it was fun but needs more vendors!!

Cons: 1) The location was horible, and by location I dont mean HB.
2) Sand? Putting the Vendors on sand not the smartest thing I've seen. (pushing a stroller through sand, blows.)
3) The amount of space given to walk through the vendors area was minimal and also covered in sand.
4) The lack of Vendors and major sponsors... Did the Marines not Sponsor this year?
5) 3 fields and no cover from the elements. At least on sunday that is, Im not sure if they had more fields up Fri/Sat but sunday there were only 3 fields and to long of a pause between games.
6) The refs wrestling on the floor between games wasnt very appropraite either. Get the games going instead of wrestling with each other.

I don't want this post to seem like I'm bashing the promoters who put this event together. I know it took a lot of hard work from them to make this event possible, and it was greatly appreciated. Our sport of paintball is a dying sport, if we didn't have them our great sport/hobby would all ready be dead. I've heard people refer to this sport as the rich mans sport, the spoiled kids sport, but thanks to these people putting on an event like this, has and is helping spread our sport to others.
Again I am not bashing the event or the promoters but rather giving my opinion and willing to offer my suggestions if they want them. I am happy to see that some one loves our sport and is trying their damnest to help this sport survive. Thank you USPL, thank you.

The games IMO ran WAY more smoothly than they have in previous years. It seemed like they were always either right on time or ahead of schedule, at least until finals on sunday.

The reffing was decent, I did see a lot of bad calls and refs not knowing the proper rules, but it happens at every event I guess.

The vendors were a big let down to me honestly. I know that because it's a new league and may not have the best reputation, a lot of vendors probably aren't willing to invest the time or money into it, but hopefully with the event turning out so well, not only with selling out the grandstands but with having a pretty good team turnout, we'll start seeing more, bigger names show up.

And they really shouldn't THROW pods when they do giveaways in the grandstands. Those *****es hurt.

Pros
-Beach, Beach, and more Beach.
-Weather was decent at first, but great on Sunday.

Cons
-Dragging gear through the sand sucked.
-Waiting on tables sucked, especially when the other team took their sweet time packing up.
-Refs really need to be worked with. Had a hopper hit wiped and it was caught on the webcast. Using bright yellow paint and on a black hopper shouldn't have been so hard to see. Was a game changer, Lord knows we needed it!
-Bathrooms nearer the player area.
-Webcast improvement, and possibly rebroadcastor recorded?

All in all was a great time. Hats off to all the crew and staff that worked long and tiresome hours to put it together. Tom, Camille and all the other faces that I can't put a name with deserve a big pat on the back.